{"id":1409,"date":"2014-10-23T01:53:52","date_gmt":"2014-10-23T01:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1409"},"modified":"2014-10-19T19:03:16","modified_gmt":"2014-10-19T19:03:16","slug":"when-you-think-cant-i-have-just-one-good-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/10\/when-you-think-cant-i-have-just-one-good-day.html","title":{"rendered":"When you think, “Can’t I have just one good day?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maureen<\/a>If you are really down, and challenges are heaping themselves upon challenges, then you might find yourself thinking, “Can’t I have just one good day?” Yup, I’ve been there myself -and it’s okay to ask that question, borne of frustration and perhaps a little amazement that “yet another” thing could go wrong in an already “wrong” life.<\/p>\n

At those times, I’ve allowed myself a shoulder shrug, a look upward and a quizzical eye. I’ve allowed myself to raise my voice in questioning. And then, I’ve refocused to something that, I usually find, turns the situation around.<\/p>\n

That refocusing isn’t “rocket science.” It just means that I look at life as it is, with all of its proverbial warts, and resolve to find something good, even one small thing, that I can expand on in my mind and heart, to take the rough edges off of the present day. I try not to worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow’s going to be what it is. But, I can make it a little better if I take the present day and try to squeeze out every ounce of good there is to be had.<\/p>\n

To find the “good,” I try not to turn to those momentary temptations that might seem so on the surface, but might bring problems of their own. Overeating chocolate, for example. Lessening my exercise program instead of maintaining it. I pray that God will lead me to the good, fill my heart with it, even if my outer day is troublesome. And, the most wonderful thing about doing this?<\/p>\n

God never lets me down.<\/p>\n

Even if the day in question is still overall filled with tough issues, if I can find the good, then the day is not lost. Rather, the day is saved, and I feel much stronger for it!<\/p>\n

Joy and peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you are really down, and challenges are heaping themselves upon challenges, then you might find yourself thinking, “Can’t I have just one good day?” Yup, I’ve been there myself -and it’s okay to ask that question, borne of frustration and perhaps a little amazement that “yet another” thing could go wrong in an already…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,360,43,4,1047],"tags":[739,1309,29,44,1311,1310,1308],"class_list":["post-1409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-determination","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-good","tag-a-bad-day","tag-asking-god-for-help","tag-chronic-illness","tag-chronic-pain","tag-finding-good-in-a-bad-day","tag-frustrated-with-life-with-pain","tag-one-good-day"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen you think, "Can't I have just one good day?" - 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1410,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409\/revisions\/1410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}